Means for preparing asbestos fiber for insulating purposes.



H. L. OWEN. MEANS FOR PREPARING ASBESTOS FIBER FOR INSULATING PURPOSES. APPLICATION FILED D3014, 1912.

1 ,071 ,081 Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

vf/itness cei: I Inventor M. wen, b I a M y His/Attorney.

cqLUfnBlA PLANOORAPH C0,. WASHINGTON. B. C.

H. L. OWEN. MEANS FOR PREPARING ASBESTOS FIBER FOR INSULATING PURPOSES.

APPLICATION FILED D3014, 1912.

Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lnven tor Harry L. Owen,

Vt/itnesses;

His Attorn ey.

UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY L. OWEN, 0F YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR. TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION. OF, NEW. YORK.

MEANS FOR PREPARING ASBESTOS FIBER FOR INSULATING PURPOSES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Au g. 26,1913.

Applicationfiled Decemben 14, 1912. Serial No; 736,706.

. Vania have invented certain. new and useful.

Improvements in Means for Preparing As. bestos Fiber for Insulating Purposes, ofi which. the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the preparation of asbestos fiber for use as an insulating ma-. terial and has for its object theprovision of? means whereby asbestos fiber may be taken F from a carding machine and brought to. a, condition suitable for application. as. an insulating covering for metallic surfaces.

My invention relates more specifically to the preparation. of asbestos fiben in the form: of a web or strip of carded flocculent as bestos which is adapted to be wound upon an electrical conductor. In my previous application, Serial No. 616,814, filed Marchflh, 1911, I have described and. claimed sucha; strip. of carded, flocculent asbestos wound; into a roll with a supporting strip. of flexible material, such as paper, between the turns. In the preparation of these rolls. the asbestos comes from the dofling roll of the carding machine in the form of separated flocculent strips and is delivered on to strips of paper having substantially the same width as the strips of asbestos. The

strips of paper are then wound up with theasbestos between the turns. In my previous application, Serial No. 473,243, filed January 20, 1909, I have described and claimed a machine for winding the asbestos fro-m the rolls upon the wire. The roll: of paperwith the asbestos upon it is unrolled and the strip of asbestos is caused to travel into con. tact. with the wire and be spirally wound thereon. It has been found in practice that the strip. of asbestos fiber which comes from the carding machine often is placed irregularly upon the paper strip and: will not, therefore, be applied to the wire with uniformity. In carrying out my invention I provide means whereby the fiber strip a-sit comes from the carding machine is automatically placed regularly upon the paper with their edges substantially parallel: and the fiber incidentally condensed. In one specific embodiment of my invention I provide members which reciprocate between the adjacent strips soas. to engage their edges and arrange the strips uniformly and regularly upon. the paper. strips. of: asbestos are compressed or con- Incidentally the de nsed: in. the. direction of their width but this is not in all cases necessary although it :is desirable where the strips of paper are narrow for. the purpose of economy of space.

@ther objects and purposes of my invenj'tion will appear in the course of the following specification in which I have shown my invention embodied 111 concrete form for purposes of illustration.

In. the accompanying drawing illustrating ione embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 "1s a side elevation of a machine embodying my improvement; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a detail of the reciprocating comb; Fig. 4 is a detail of the frictionrollz; Fig. 51s a detail of the compressing means; and: Fig. 6 1s a diagram show Zing the various parts in relative posit-ions.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, 10 rep resents the dotting roll of a carding mach-ine. paratus and requires no description.

This is a well known piece of ap- This dofling roll is divided into sections as shown in. dotted lines in- Fig. 2 so that the asbestos fiber will be delivered therefrom in separated strips as shown. The fiber is removed from the doifing roll by means of a reciprocating comb 11 pivot-ed at 12 and is caused to reciprocate in any desired manner,

as for instance by the rotary disk 13 having a pin and; slot connection with an arm 14:

which causes the arm 11 to rotate back and forth on its pivot in a well known manner. As. the asbestos leaves the doffing roll it is delivered to theconveying ,means which consists of a roller 15 and the tapes upon which the asbestos is mounted. It is while :the strips of asbestos are passing over this roller 15 that their edges are straightened traveling tapes which are to receive them.

The. asbestos is also compressed and compacted, although as already explained this is not in all cases necessary although it would be practically impossible to arrange the fiber properly without compacting it to a certain extent. This compacting mechanism' is shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and consists of a plurality of plates 16 mounted upon a shaft 17 there being a plate between each two adjacent strips of asbestos. These plates fit over the roller 15 and engage the same, as shown in Fig. 6. The rod 17 is caused to reciprocate longitudinally in any desired manner, as for instance by means of a crank disk 18 having a pin engaging a yoke 19 on the end of the shaft. I have shown a plurality of pins 20 in the disk for engaging the yoke located at different distances from the center so as to vary the travel of the shaft 17 as desired. By referring to Fig. 5 it will be seen that as the shaft 17 reciprocates, the plates, which are in contact with the roller 15, will engage the edges of the strips of asbestos and to a certain extent compact the fiber so as to make the edges of the strips parallel and properly position them with reference to each other and also wit-h reference to the traveling tapes. lVith the arrangement shown it will be noted that each plate, excepting, of course, the end plates, is located between two strips and engages first the edge of one and then the edge of the other. The amount which the fiber is shifted will depend upon the width of the strip and the travel of the shaft 17 upon which the members are mounted. This of course may be varied as desired.

In Fig. 6 the operation is shown in outline. Strips or tapes of paper 21 are wound into rolls and are supported in friction rollers of any desired construction, as, for instance, the construct-ion shown in Fig. 4. The paper passes from this roll 21 through a chalk box 22 which properly prepares the surface to receive the asbestos and from there passes .over a series of rollers 23, 24, 25, 26 and is .wound up on the roller 27 which is likewise of the friction type. These rolls 23, 24, 25 and 26 regulate the speed of the paper and it is important that the speed of the rolls be such as to give the paper a speed corresponding to the rate at which the asbestos fiber is delivered from the doffing roll. The asbestos fiber coming from the dofiing roll 10 is removed by means of the comb 11 and thrown on to the roll 15 which revolves in a direction to carry the fiber on to the paper tapes. As the asbestos passes over this roll the plates 16 engage the edges in the manner above described and arrange the strips as shown in Fig. 2. The asbestos then passes on to the paper between the rolls 26 and 28 and is then wound up with the paper in the manner described in my previous applica tion above referred to. The rolls of paper and asbestos are then removed from the machine and used as insulating material or for any other purpose desired.

While I have described my invention as embodied in concrete form and as operating in a specific manner in accordance with the patent statutes, it should be understood that I do not limit my invention thereto since various modifications thereof will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. Means for preparing asbestos fiber for application to electrical conductors comprising a carding machine arranged to deliver carded flocculent asbestos in separated strips, conveying means for receiving said strips, and movable means for engaging the edges of said strips while traveling on said conveying means to make the edges thereof substantially parallel with each other.

2. Means for preparing asbestos fiber for application to electrical conductors comprising a carding machine arranged to deliver carded flocculent asbestos in separated strips, conveying means for receiving said strips, and reciprocating means for engaging the said strips while traveling on said conveying means to make the edges thereof substantially parallel with each other.

3. Means for preparing asbestos fiber for application to electrical conductors comprising a carding machine arranged to deliver carded flocculent asbestos in separated strips, conveying means for receiving said strips, and reciprocating members located between the strips on the conveyer so as to alternately engage the adjacent edges of the strips between which they are located to make the edges substantially parallel with each other.

4. Means for preparing asbestos fiber for application to electrical conductors comprising a carding machine arranged to deliver carded flocculent asbestos in separated strips, conveying means for receiving said strips, and a plurality of members one of which is located between eachadjacent pair of strips so as to engage the edges thereof, and means for simultaneously reciprocating said members and causing them to alter nately engage adjacent edges of the strips between which they are located.

5. Means for preparing asbestos fiber for application to electrical conductors comprising a carding machine arranged to deliver carded flocculent asbestos in separated strips, conveying means comprising a conveyer for receiving said strips and a plurality of tapes for receiving the strips from the conveyer, and reciprocating members mounted adjacent said conveyer to engage said strips while traveling on the conveyer and arrange the same in parallel relation for delivery to said tapes.

6. Means for preparing asbestos fiber for application to electrical conductors comprising a carding machine arranged to deliver carded flocculent asbestos in separated strips, conveying means comprising a conveyer for receiving said strips and a plurality of tapes for receiving the strips from the eonveyer, a plurality of members one of In Witness whereof I have hereunto set Which is located between each adjacentpair my hand this eleventh day of December, 10 of Strips sofas to engage the edges thereof, 1912.

an means or simultaneousl reci rocatin said members to cause them to al ternatel; HARRY OWVEN' engage adjacent edges of the strips between Witnesses:

which they are located to arrange the same H. O. HILDEBRAND,

in parallel relation for delivery to said tapes. W. SMITH HEIGES. v

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

